


In Case

by ArtemisStark



Series: Puckleberry [2]
Category: Glee
Genre: F/M, Heartbreak, Puckleberry, Sad, Songfic, it's all good in the end tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-11
Updated: 2016-04-11
Packaged: 2018-06-01 17:12:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6528739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArtemisStark/pseuds/ArtemisStark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Puckleberry one-shot. Based off the song "In Case" by Demi Lovato bc it makes me cry.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Case

Rachel squinted at the picture, silently cursing. His face was nearly washed out of the small picture. "Dammit, I knew I should've checked my pockets." She whispered, a tear rolling down her cheek. The picture had been taken on the 4th of July, in Santana and Finn's backyard. He was sitting on the cooler, Isabelle, their new puppy, in his arms. He was shirtless, and had been soaked. Rachel softly smiled at the memory of what had happened right after she snapped the photo. He had walked out, trying to hug her, and because she didn't want to get wet, she had dodged him, so he had settled for shaking his head like a dog, showering her with drops. She had squealed, slapping his chest, and he had grabbed her hands, pulling her close and meeting her lips with his in a fiery kiss.

Rachel crinkled her nose at the month old box of take-out Chinese. He had suggested ordering out during their weekly movie night, and then had barely touched it. He had put it in the fridge, saying he would eat it for lunch later. She felt a tad guilty for not cleaning out the fridge and throwing it out earlier, but she had been so busy and that's what he usually did and- "It's been later." She whispered as she threw the chicken in the trash.

He had walked out, claiming he was looking for something new. _More like someone new_. Something better. Something ( _someone_ ) different. He was looking for something away from New York. Away from her. Away from Isabelle. Away from the life they had started. She still prayed every night, since that night exactly one months away, that he would realize that _she_ was what he was looking for. That _they_ were what he was looking for.

Her mind drifted to long nights of pleasure. Long days of not seeing each other. The week she was in Lima and he was here, and they called each night before bed, and each morning right after they woke up. The day Santana and Finn got married, and he had quietly whispered that that would be them one day. His arms around her. His hand in hers. His lips on hers. Him in her. Him. Her. _Them_.

"You can't just stay with someone for 3 years, and then leave! You can't tell someone you love them, that you're in love with them, that one day you'll marry them, and then walk out the door with no explanation!" She had been so angry, and it honestly wasn't completely because of _what_ he was doing, but _how_ he had been planning to do it. It was 3 in the morning, and if he hadn't accidentally knocked the picture of her and Quinn off the wall, then she wouldn't have even known he was leaving. She could feel tears in her eyes and she so badly didn't want them to fall, but of course they were. _Traitors_

"Well apparently you can, because that's exactly what I'm doing." He wasn't looking at her. He had been staring at a spot just over her head, his jaw clenching and unclenching.

She had to pry her own mouth open, speechless for once in her life, and it wasn't even for a good reason,"How?" 

He had finally looked at her then, and she knew he saw the tears in her eyes by the way his fist unclenched for a split second, wanting to comfort her. Instead, he picked up the bag and walked past her, being careful not to touch her. "I changed my mind."

The door had slammed. Isabelle had whined. Rachel had screamed, and sobbed, and wished to die. _I changed my mind_. She dreamed that maybe, just maybe, one day he would again change his mind, and come back to her.

She had left him once, when she caught him cheating in their freshman year of college, only days after he had told her he loved her. She had thrown the necklace he got her at his face, screamed, and then ran home. Unfortunately, being without him showed her how much she needed to be with him. When you care too much for someone, you let them hurt you, and then you forgive and forget. She had cared so much for him, that she had let him walk out that door, straight out of her life.

"Stupid idiot." Rachel sighed as she lifted his old letterman jacket from the trashcan in his bathroom. Puckerman, McKinley High, and 10 were embroidered in yellow on the back on the red and white jacket. Dirty, stained with food, sweat, and who knows what else, things she didn't want to think about, it was practically useless. But she took it to the dry cleaners, and spent a fortune getting it spot clean, cleaner than it had ever been. Another $20 for a large frame, and then it was hung in the living room, right beside his old Air Force uniform.

She hoped he remembered how it felt when he would be fixing his hair, or brushing his teeth, and she would sneak up behind him, and wrap her arms around him, and bury her face in his bare shoulder, and leave a trail of kisses. She hoped he remembered the way he smiled and blushed when she did that, the way he turned around and squeezed her tight against him, kissing her hair.

She hoped he would come back.

She hoped her would still love her.

She _hoped_.

But if he didn't come back,

and if he didn't love her again,

she could would just have to live with it.

**~Two Months Later~**

A knock on the door at 4 AM jerked her awake. Isabelle let out a quiet growl,"Shhh, be quiet Isabelle!" Rachel hushed as she tugged on her robe, slowly making her way to the door. 

Rubbing her eyes, she opened it, and her mouth automatically dropped in shock. 3 months. 3 months since she had seen those hazel eyes and that smile. A black tanktop clung to his muscles, a pair of jeans that fit him perfectly. She looked back up into his eyes.

"Noah?"

He sheepishly smiled, showing her the same bag he had left with.

"I'm home."

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! :*


End file.
